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Cancer Council WA’s Make Smoking History Program has launched a new emotive campaign, in a bid to prompt people who smoke to quit.
‘Worried About You’ is a narrative campaign produced by Gatecrasher Advertising that focuses on a daughter’s concern about her father becoming ill from smoking. Cancer Council WA’s Cancer Prevention and Research Director, Melissa Ledger, said the campaign aims to remind people who smoke about the worry that it causes their loved ones, and to motivate people to quit smoking.
“Research has shown that a key motivator to help people quit smoking is to show them how smoking can impact their relationships that matter most,” Ms Ledger said.
“We spoke with many smokers before creating this ad and we found parents who smoke often stated that their children talking to them about smoking and asking them to quit because they were worried really motivated them to quit or try again.
“Children worry about what will happen if their parents become ill or die early because of tobacco. They know about the harms of smoking through what they may have learnt from school and viewing ads on TV.
“This campaign uses an emotive and powerful story to create a very real and personal emotional response.
“No one wants to cause their family distress, so it is a powerful motivator to kick the habit.
“We know that smoking is harmful to health and can cause up to 16 types of cancer; but it doesn’t just harm the person smoking, second-hand smoke is very harmful to people who are around it which may include a smoker’s children, partner, loved ones and even their pets.”
Ms Ledger said anti-tobacco campaigns like ‘Worried About You’ are a key component to a comprehensive approach to driving down smoking rates in WA.
“Even though tobacco smoking rates are declining, tobacco is still the largest cause of preventable death and disease in Australia which is why it is so important that we are not complacent,” she said.
“Anti-smoking campaigns have been around for a long time and have had a high success in getting West Australians to quit smoking; but there is still work to be done and we have not given up on supporting people to stop smoking. That’s why we’ve pulled together all the best tips on our Make Smoking History website.
“We know quitting smoking is hard, but it has the potential to be life-changing, not only for the person smoking, but for their family and loved ones. If you smoke, we urge you to use this as an incentive to stop smoking once and for all.”
The campaign will run across WA from Sunday 26 June to Saturday 1 October 2022.
People who are thinking of starting their quit journey (or who would like to help someone to quit) can access support by:
- Contacting the Quitline for support from the Quitline counsellors:
- Call 13 7848
- Text “call back” to 13 7848
- Request a call-back online
- Chat to a counsellor online
- Downloading the free MyQuitBuddy app
- Visiting makesmokinghistory.tips
- Visiting QuitCoach
- Seeking advice and support from their GP, Aboriginal Health Worker, Telehealth service or pharmacist
